Well I took the old gal out for the first ride today. Shifting with down tube shifters is easier than I thought, though not as easy as STI's of course. I took it out fully loaded with the bag attached to the rack and found that it rolls really nice. In fact I found very little reduction in speed vs. my Lemond. The bike rides smooth and solid. Only one small problem encountered. I jumped on the pedals while outrunning a dog and it shifted to a smaller gear by itself. Is this common with friction shifters?